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A guide for choosing a voice solution for your business

We are witnessing an unprecedented rate of adoption of Cloud Communication services. Projections estimate there will be over 7 million users in the UK by 2022*, more than doubling the market in 5 years.

But why are businesses so eager to make the move to Cloud Communication services and how can you scope out if VoIP technology is right for you?

In part this is due to the ease of deployment, access, upgrading and affordable monthly costs cloud services enable. Cloud Communications service like SIP Trunks, Hosted Telephony or Call Recording are delivered over VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology.

Compared to conventional telephone services, VoIP technology can lower your telephone bill significantly, quickly enabling use of different services to improve and future proof your business needs and user experiences.

Choosing the telephony system that is right for your business is a big step, but finding a Cloud Communications provider that is going to meet your company’s needs and provide quality support is just as important.

Here are 6 key points to consider when choosing a voice solution for your business;

1. Hosted vs Onsite Solutions

Both hosted and onsite telephony solutions use a Private Branch Exchange (PBX), this is the brains of a telephony system, both solutions offer unique advantages. A hosted solution is ideal for businesses with no pre-existing or has an aging PBX . Moving to a cloud solution negates high investment costs and monthly maintenance contracts. Your service provider provides, maintains and upgrades the PBX for you. Businesses can quickly and easily scale as needed and access new features at any time. All this whilst removing the need to purchase equipment. Alternatively, while an onsite system provides more control on your telecoms infrastructure, it requires a greater initial investment and on-going maintenance, it can age quickly and if new features are required a new PBX needs to be purchased along with maintenance contracts and if you have multiple sites you could potentially require a PBX for each site.

2. Cost

It is good to examine the total cost of ownership (TOC) for each system to discover which one is best suited for your business. A hosted telephony system requires low initial investment and no monthly maintenance costs. Alternatively, an onsite system requires high initial investment and ongoing monthly maintenance costs of PBX and line rental.

3. Quality of Service

Contrary to popular belief VoIP technology doesn’t require copious amount of bandwidth, it does however need to operate over an uncontended internet connection. Slow internet connectivity is the number one cause of poor voice quality and dropped calls, and can have serious implications on business communications. Best practice is to use your connectivity provider as your voice carrier, this ensures voice data is prioritised in real time. Should issues occur there is only one proverbial ‘Throat to Choke’. No calling different service providers all blaming each other for poor service.M247 is the UK’s fastest growing Internet connectivity and infrastructure provider that provides robust connectivity for your business growth. Great connectivity provides a great Cloud Communication experience. Our connectivity and voice solutions ensure that business calls are not hindered by poor connectivity as we can apply quality of service free of charge.

4. Scalability

Growing businesses must be able to scale up or down quickly on an ‘as-needed-basis’ with services that can flex with your business needs without paying heavy prices. Onsite PBX often means costly upfront investments to add additional services. So before signing up, make sure this box has been ticked, and if you’re looking to make the move to multi-national, check your service provider has international capability, very few do!

5. Security

Businesses can take advantage of Cloud Communication features that enable excellent security. Features such as controlling voice access by username and password, restricting the types of calls allowed on the network and centralizing administration can act as first measures for security. It also includes remote proactive 24/7 monitoring systems detecting unusual calling patterns and user behaviour, to protect your business and costs. This is something that doesn’t come as standard with an onsite solution.

6. Great Customer Service

Look for a supplier that provides hassle-free deployment, great reliability with near-zero downtime and excellent fix times. Check their customer support, as well as how easy it is to get in touch if you have trouble with your Cloud Voice solutions.

M247’s M-Communicate products and services can empower your business through increased flexibility, scalability and efficiency, with excellent pricing and service as a standard. Flexible Hosted Voice solutions with M247 starts from less than £7 a month, are fully flexible and won’t restrict your business. You can choose the level of service and features to suit each individual needs.

Find out more about our M-Communicate solutions. Call 0800 066 2739 and speak to our knowledgeable and helpful experts today.